Precast concrete walls need very little maintenance – no treatment for pests or replacement of rotting parts. What your concrete fence will need to look its best are regular cleanings. The five main methods of cleaning precast concrete fences are:
- Pressure Washing
- Hand Washing
- Sandblasting
- Hand Scraping
- Painting
Pressure Washing
This is one of the best methods for cleaning precast concrete fence panels. It’s easy and quick. The equipment can be purchased or rented at your local hardware store. You can get your concrete fence clean with no worries about damaging the concrete as pressure washing cannot damage concrete
Hand Washing
Using just your hands, some soap, and a cloth, you can get your concrete wall clean. This method will be more time consuming than pressure washing, but it’s a good option when you don’t have access to a pressure washer or when you just want to clean a small section of the wall.
Make sure your surfaces are sealed before cleaning by hand, otherwise you could do more harm than good. This method is very gentle on concrete walls – just make sure you pick the right detergent. Use pH-neutral products, alkaline cleaners, or bacterial cleaners – all of these are very gentle and designed to be used on concrete walls.
If dogs or other animals have been using your wall as their outhouse, go with the bacterial cleaners. They will work best at removing those urine stains.
If it’s paint that you are looking to clean up, act fast, and don’t let it dry. If it dries, you will need to look at using more intensive and costly clean-up methods. First, soak up the extra paint using clean cloths. Next, use a powder-based cleaner and water to scrub as much as you can until the spot is clean.
Sandblasting
As you can imagine, this method is harsher and should be reserved for extreme situations – like paint spills that have died or graffiti. You will likely need to hire this out to a company that specializes in sandblasting sealed concrete. It isn’t recommended to do this yourself. If done wrong, the sandblasting can ruin the sealant on your concrete.
Hand Scraping
This final method is usually only used if tar or other sticky substance is spilled on the concrete fence panels. First, let the substance dry. If it’s tar, use ice to cool it down quickly. Once it is cool, use a chisel or other flat scraper to scrape off the tar or other substance. Scrub to fully clean.
Painting
Sometimes concrete walls get so dirty it wouldn’t be worth the time and money to use any of the previous methods. Say, for example, a whole gang of taggers came through and graffiti over the whole thing. In those cases, your best option might be to paint your fence. Concrete fences look very attractive when painted. If you select the right paint, it adheres well to the concrete and will cover most problems. Concrete fences need very little prep work to paint – unlike wood fences.
At American Precast Concrete, Inc, we specialize in creating walls and fences that will last for decades to come, so you want to keep them looking their best. If you have yet to install your precast concrete fence, contact us today for a custom quote.